Next up as we scan local concert halls and venues for great fall music is Natasha’s Bistro at 112 Esplanade. A bit of a Lexington institution, the eatery has made major strides over the past two years in becoming a seriously competitive and recognized performance hub for theatre and music.

This year alone, Natasha’s has played host to James McMurtry, Chuck Prophet, Peter Case, The Hot Club of Cowtown and more in its ultra intimate and listener friendly confines.

Full a full look at its nightly entertainment lineup, visit www.beetnik.com or call (859) 259-2754. But here are a few highlights heading to Natasha’s in the months ahead.

All are recommended. But the shows marked with *** are considered by The Musical Box to be not-to-miss performances.

+ Sept. 12: Rangda – The finale act of WRFL’s second annual Boomslang festival may be named after a murderous Balinese demon. But for Boomslang purposes, Rangda is an all-star indie psychedelic collective made up of Sir Richard Bishop, Ben Chasny and Chris Corsano.

+ Sept. 16: California Guitar Trio with Ben Lacy – Finally, a full evening with the ever inventive CGT, a group that performs surf music, Japanese folk tunes, movie themes, prog rock covers and arresting originals solely on three acoustic guitars. Lexington’s own guitar great Ben Lacy will open. ***

+ Sept. 17: Vandaveer – A return outing with former Lexingtonian Mark Charles Heidinger, who rides the waves of folk and acoustic psychedelia as the ever industrious Vandeveer. Influences run from Dylan to (Nick) Drake. But his sound is wholly original.

randall bramblett

+ Sept. 25: Randall Bramblett – Simply put, one of the greatest but least appreciated Southern songwriters of our generation. Bramblett is a masterful and immensely literate writer as well as a sublime instrumentalist who has recorded and toured with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Steve Winwood and Chuck Leavell. ***

+ Oct. 1: Phil Lee and Tommy Womack – Wow. Nashville scribe Lee disappears for what seems like decades and now makes his second regional appearance in six weeks. Womack has long been a local favorite with shows alongside (or as part of) Government Cheese, Daddy, Todd Snider and more.

+ Oct. 11: Malcolm Holcombe – Holcombe is a real sleeper act. A versed North Carolina songwriter, his tunes echo plaintive country and folk sentiments. But stylistically, he continually surprises, shuffling between folk, blues, swing styles and much more

mindy smith

+ Nov. 14: Mindy Smith – At long last, we finally have a night with this extraordinary Americana stylist. Initially, her music leaned to country and even Christian inspirations. They still do to a degree. But her fine 2009 album Stupid Love blurs the genres for a sampler of worldly and world weary songs. ***

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MUSINGS ON MUSIC FROM CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND BEYOND

meet walter tunis

I am a native Kentuckian and freelance journalist who has been writing about contemporary music for the Lexington Herald-Leader since 1980. I have not a lick of honest musical talent myself, just a pair of appreciative ears for jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana, soul, Celtic, Cajun, chamber, worldbeat, nearly every form of rock 'n' roll imaginable and, when pressed, the occasional tango and polka.